New Zealand’s top golfer Lynnette Brooky regained her lead at the Ladies Spanish Open in Castellon after setting a new course record with a sizzling seven under par 65 in the penultimate round today.
After heavy rainfall in the morning, the sun shone on the Kiwi all afternoon and she could do no wrong, posting seven birdies with five on the front nine.
She broke her own course record of 66 set in Thursday’s opening round by a shot, after the course was lengthened by 200 yards following Iben Tinning’s 63 during the second round in last year’s Spanish Open.
At eleven-under-par, Brooky took a three shot lead from overnight leader Gwladys Nocera from France, who carded a 73 for an eight under par total. Switzerland’s Nora Angehrn climbed up the leader board into third position on seven under par after a blistering 66, while Wales’ Becky Brewerton was the best placed Briton in fourth on six under par after a 70.
Brooky, who held a one shot lead after the first round, trailed by five shots overnight after a 73 yesterday, but she quickly chased down her playing partner Nocera by posting three consecutive birdies on the second, third and fourth holes to move to seven-under-par.
She recorded another at the sixth, to make it four birdies in five holes before drawing level with the Frenchwoman who had double bogeyed the fifth.
Both players birdied the ninth to move to nine-under-par before Nocera bogeyed the tenth. That gave Brooky the advantage and she increased her lead to three with birdies at the final two holes.
Brooky is looking to secure her fourth Tour win after winning the 1998 Ladies Austrian Open as well as back to back French Open titles in 2002 and 2003. That would secure her place in the prestigious Evian Masters tournament, which takes place in July and is an event she always plays well in.
“A win here would mean a lot to me. I said to my caddie Gerald I need to win before Evian otherwise we don’t play, so that’s the whole guts of what I’ve been thinking,” she admitted.
Brooky took a brief lesson on the range from her new coach Di Barnard before today’s round, which gave her the confidence to “get the ball in the hole”. As well as being the LET’s Vice Chairman, Barnard is also an LET player who coaches at “Urban Golf” in the UK.
“I was hitting it not too good this morning and it was raining so I called my coach Di who said I was being a bit too anxious,” explained Brooky. “She said I was hitting the ball fine and just told me to breathe a little bit more and to wait patiently. She thinks everything is great so I trust her. My caddie Gerald is picking some good clubs so I trust him as well.
“Di gave me a new beginning to the swing last week and she got me back over the right foot. I tend to get on the left foot on my backswing which is a bad thing to do. She’s got me back in there and I’m playing much stronger and more aggressively now. She’s a very good coach and I rate her as one of the best.”
Nocera, who carded two birdies, a bogey and a double for her 73 today, said: “I didn’t make a putt today. Nothing went my way. I’m just keeping some shots for tomorrow.” She is looking for her first Tour victory, while Switzerland’s Nora Angehrn is full of confidence having won her first professional tournament earlier this year on the Nedbank Women’s South African Tour.
After a 66 today, she will play alongside Brooky and Nocera in the final group tomorrow. “It will be my first time in contention on the LET but I won in South Africa in January so I know how to do it,” said the 26-year-old from Zurich.
“That gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. My caddie Michael Canmore from Ireland was a big help today. He’s been reading all the lines for me on the greens. I’ve been hitting the ball well but I had a hot putter and a nice group so we motivated each other.”
Brewerton will play in the penultimate group tomorrow after shooting a third round of 70. She said: “It was a strange round really because for the first five holes I was hitting it great but I couldn’t make any putts. They were just lipping out so I tried not to get frustrated. Then I had a couple of bogeys so I dropped back to three under at one point and then the last six holes I really took off and felt like I was playing really well. I wish we could have carried on and gone out and played again.
“After the rain the greens were playing a little slower and you had to hit longer shots in but by the time we got to the 11th the course was playing the same as yesterday.”
At the end of the third round there were ten players within seven shots of the lead. Italian Veronica Zorzi and Spaniard Ana Belen Sanchez shared fifth position on five under par while Anna Rawson, Carmen Alonso, Lotta Wahlin, Rebecca Hudson and Helena Alterby were tied for seventh position on five-under-par.
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